PPP urges decisiveness in control of epidemics

The Progressive People’s Party (PPP) on Wednesday pressed government to show decisiveness and to be pragmatic in controlling disease outbreak in the country.

The party held that instead of implementing adhoc measures each time there was an epidemic, government must use more aggressive approaches in handling such menace and desist from over-reliance on one method at a time to combat epidemics such as malaria and cholera.

Addressing a news conference in Accra to outline the PPP’s policy on health and the eradication of preventable disease, Mr Felix William Ograh, National Treasurer said government must first exhibit a great sense of urgency towards the prevention and further spread of the cholera epidemic.

“Today, the President of the Republic has to virtually go on begging errands pleading with people to keep their environments clean and helping them do same giving the overwhelming cholera toll,” he said.

Mr Ograh said the populist approach adopted by government was not the solution to the problem, saying “we cannot champion adhoc measures in solving deep rooted problems”.

He said the PPP policy intervention to solve the public health menace is the reintroduction of the Town Council system in order to enforce bye-laws to makes citizens involvement part of the solution to address sanitation challenges.

The present gloomy situation resulting from the devastating impact of the perennial cholera outbreak, he said, requires urgent attention, “else it could heighten existing poverty levels and adversely affect Ghana’s gains towards the various Millennium Development Goals”.

Mr Ograh said the PPP is of the view that battling with preventable illnesses such as cholera and malaria which had increased at Out-Patient-Departments of health institutions, 57 years after Ghana’s independence is “shameful and unacceptable”.

“Both cholera and malaria have become the fastest killer diseases and also a huge drain on the public purse…this is disgraceful to the country’s image”.

He noted that weak leadership coupled with the lack of a sense of urgency in addressing issues that directly impact on human survival, inadequate public education on preventable diseases, the lackadaisical approaches in handling the public health menace and lack of law enforcement to empower relevant bodies to execute their mandate, are some of the challenges that needs urgent appraisal.

Mr Ograh said the PPP’s health policy hinges on preventive rather than curative health and focuses on ensuring better health care and cleaner environment,

The policy would also restore the State’s responsibility for a clean and healthy environment, through enhanced budgetary allocation to the mandated public institutions, the enactment of appropriate legislation, monitoring performance and enforcing the laws.

Mr Ograh said the Party supports the empowerment of agencies and institutions mandated to maintain clean and healthy environment, proper waste management system, provision of good drinking water and good planning of town and cities.

He mentioned other areas of attention as improved water supply, recycling of solid waste for energy production to meet the country’s demand and also maintaining up-to-date databases, as well as ensuring effective and sustainable supervision and sustenance of relevant advocacy programmes.